BS 4 U

Teen loses arm at Stokes Croft squat party, keeps on raving

Bristol’s bohemian district of Stokes Croft has long been a mecca for dedicated party animals. But few could claim to be more dedicated than one Josh Jackson, who continued to rave for a miraculous 17 hours after losing a limb on the dance floor.

“The crowds were huge that night, it seemed like the whole world wanted to come rave. But hats off to the organisers, there were no real incidents – apart from my one,” recalled Josh, 15, a regular patron of Bristol’s thriving non-legal discotheque and squat boogie scene.

“I was in the drum and bass room appreciating the bass and the drums when it kicked off.”

Unfortunately for Josh, the vibrations from the music caused an antique chandelier made of cutlasses to fall from the ceiling, slicing off his arm from the elbow. But the dedicated mover and shaker refused to let this minor amputation move or shake his belief in the healing power of dance.

“It cost £3 entry and a couple of hot girls were there, so I decided to tie my trousers around my stump – using my mouth and remaining arm – and make a night of it”

Josh escorted himself to a hospital 17 hours later. His arm could not be re-attached because he had forgotten to bring it with him, but the young raver’s effervescent optimism could not be dampened either: “I like to think I was really lucky actually, because I had taken so many drugs it felt to me like I had 100 arms, and that is something I will never forget in a million arms.”

The organisers of the squat party, held in the old cutlass factory on Jamaica Street, have refused to accept responsibility as a tangible concept due to the subjective nature of what we call ‘reality’.